Ash-tray fixture



Dec. 28 1925 1,612,569

E. CALDWELL ASH TRAY FIXTURE Filed Dec. 15, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR..

ATTORNEYS.

Dec. 28 1926. Y 1,612,569

E. CALDWELL ASH TRAY F'iledDec. 15', 1924 s Sheetsi-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY Dec. 28 1926.

E. CALDWELL ASH TRAY FIXTURE 1924 I5 ShetsSheet z INVENTOR.

E :A TTORNEYJ.

Patented Dec. 28, 1926.

EDWIN CALDWELL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

ASH-TRAY FIXTURE.

Application filed December 15, 1924. Serial No. 755,920.-

This invention relates to smokers novelsubstantially along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

ties and articles, and particularly to supports for cigars, cigarettes, and pipes, which may be advantageously utilized in connec- 5 tion with ash trays and the like. The invention is in the nature of an improvement upon the support disclosed and claimed in my prior copending applications #688,830,

' filed January 26th,'1924; #695,896, filed February 29th, 1924, and #738,597, filed September 19th, 1924. 4

An object of the invention is to provide an improved article of this type which may be utilized in connection with ash trays of.

the various sizes, shapes and materials, and

having means for the support of cigars, cigarettes, pipes, match boxes, etc., in such a manner that the lighted ends of cigars, or

cigarettes supported thereby will always ex- 20 tend over the open face of the tray, andthe pipe bowl supported thereby will always remain in an upright position over the open face of the tray, thus preventing any fire hazard.

A. further object is to provide 'an improved article of this type which will al ways support the cigars, cigarettes and pipes with the end to be placed in the mouth out of contact with all surfaces; which will support cigarettes in such a manner that they will be extinguished before burning far enough to release themselves; with which the trays may be readily separated from the article for cleaning or renewal purposes; which may be formed in various pleasing and artistic designs; and which will be convenient. simple, durable and relatively inexpensive. A further object is 'to' provide an improved article of this type which may be made largely from stamped .sheet metal and/or bent wire in various forms and designs.

Various other objects and advantages be apparent from the following description of several embodiments of the invention,

and the novel features will be particularly pointedout hereinafter in connection with the appended claims.-

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a plan of a tray supported in a fixturc constructed in accordance with the invention;

V Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same;

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of a portion of the fixture with the section taken Fig. is a side elevation of a.- tray supported in'a modified fixture which is also constructed in accordance with the invention' Fig. 5 is a plan of the same with the accessory parts removed;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of a fixture somewhat similar to that shown in Fig. 4, but illustrating a modification thereof;

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of another fixture somewhat similar to that shown in Fig. 4, butillustrating a different type of cigar and cigarette rest attached to the body of the fixture in a slightly, different manner from that A previously illustrated Fig. 8 is a plan of the same;

Fig. 9 is a side elevation of another embodiment of the fixture Fig. 10 is a side elevation of a portion of another modification of the fixture;

Fig. 11 is a side elevation of still another embodiment of the fixture; and

Fig. 12 is a plan of the fixture and tray shown in Fig. 11.

Referring particularly to the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3, the fixture extends under, and up the dia- .metrically opposite sides of, the tray A, be

ing detachably connected at the upper ends by a member which extendsover the open face of the tray. The fixture comprises a strap 1-. stamped from sheet metal. having a circular-base portion 2 upon which the bottom of the tray rests, and radially extending arms 3 upon diametrically opposite sides of the base portion 2, the two radially extending arms 3 at each side of the base portion being connected at their free ends by a bar 4. The arms 3 extend up the curved sides of the tray and the crossconnecting bar 4 therefor is disposed along the upper open edge of the tray.

From one of the cross bars 4, a tongue 5 extends upwardly and vertically in approxi mately the same plane for a distance approximately equal to or slightly greater than the depth of the tray, and then is bent horizontally, as at 6, in a direction to extend over the open face of the tray. The 'inner or free end of the angular end 6 of the tongue is rolled upon itself, as at 7, to form a hinge for a closed elongated wire loop 8 which extends over the open face of the tray andinterlocks with the fixture at the opposite side, as will now be explained.

A tongue 9, similar to 5, extends upwardly from the, cross bar 4: at the other side of the fixture, and has an. angular hori-.. zontal end 10, extending toward the end 6 and having at its free end an aperture 11 into which the free end of the wire loop 8 hooks. The free end of the loop has stretches 12 extending toward one another, and then offset downwardly to form a hook end 13 which passes through the aperture 11 in order to connect the two' sides of the fixture. The loop 8 is of such a length'that when it connects the opposite sides of the fixture, the tongues 5 and 9 will be sprung slightly toward one another so as to hold the op-' posite sides of the fixture against the opposite sides of the tray and also provide ""sutlieient resiliency to hold the loop tightly latched in the aperture 11. To prevent accident-al disengagement of the loop hook, the hook end 13 is notched as at 14 so as to snap resiliently beneath the horizontal end 10 of the tongue v9. In forcing the loop latch into the aperture 11, the tongues 5 and 9 will spring or flex to some extent and also the hook end of the loop will flex somewhat, with the result that the fixture will closely embrace the opposite sides of the tray and hold it against rocking or rattling in the fixture.

In order to confine the tray to the lower part of the fixture, the tongues 5 and 9 may have slight projections 15 struck inwardly therefrom at such points that when the tray isfplaced upon the bottom part of the fixture and the two opposite tongues 5 and 9 are connected by the loop 8, the projections 15 will slightly overlie the upper edge of the tray. The base portion 2 may have three or more concave domes or protuberances 2 punched downwardly therefrom to serve as spaced points of support which will not scratch a surface upon which the fixture may be placed.

To remove the tray, it is merely necessary to unlatch the loop 8 and permit the opposite sides of the fixture tospring apartslightly, whereupon the tray A may be lifted upwardly against the underfaces of the angular ends-6 and 10, and then moved latorally from'beneath these angular ends. To permit of this removal, the angular ends 6 and 10 are placed above the cross bars 4 at least a distance equal to the depth of the tray, as before explained. Where the trays are made out glass, the base, portions 2 mayhave various designs stamped therein, such as the radially arranged openings 16, forming a rosette pattern, or artistically ornamented felt pads may be disposed upon the base portion 2 with the patterns or ornamentations' visible through the bottom of the tray.

Each angular end 6 or 10 of the tongues 5 and 9 is provided with-spaced parallel slots 16 and the metal between the apertures is struck upwardly to form a loop strap 17, beneath which strap anchoring tongues of various accessory parts may be passed for anchorage purposes. These various accessory parts may be of various kinds, and interchangeable to suit the particular fancy of the purchaser, but in Figs. 1 to 3, two difi'erent accessory devices are illustrated by wayof example.

Upon the angular or horizontal end 6 of the tongue 5, a combined cigar and ciga' rette supportdS is mounted. This combined supportisstamped from sheet metal, with its ends bent angularly to the body portion and divergent relatively to one another. From the interior of the body of the support, atongue 19 is struck out, with an aperture 20 surrounding the tongue. The tongue 19 is ofiset downwardly slightly, so that it may be passed beneath the struck up strap or loop 17 when superposed upon the angular end 6 of the tongue 5, the tongue being. slid beneath the strap 17 as the support is moved into position. This serves as a frictional and resilient connection between the combined support and the angular end 5, the base of the tongue limiting the inward movement oi. the support upon the angular end 6.

The outer bent end-21 of the support is provided with a concave notch 22 atits free end edge, for a purpose to appear presently.

The other bent end 23 of the support is provided with a notch or slot 24 leading from the free end edge toward the base of the bent end, the notch or slot having a minimum width slightly lcs'sthan the normal diameter of a cigarette, so'that when a. cigaretteis' forced into the notch, it will be slightly compressed and, therefore, frictionally gripped thereby with sufficient tightness to be supported therein. 4 o

The base or inner end of the notch 24 is preferably made slightly wider than the narrowest portion, so'that when the cigarette is forced therein, it may expand slightly at the inner end of the slot and thus be more effectively and firmly anchored in the slot. The free end edge of the bent end 23 of the support is concavely beveled,

' the bent ends 21 and 23. i

Tlie longitudinally" extending stretches of. the wire loop are preferably spaced apart a distance of approximately 1% to 1% inches in order that a pine may he supported upon the loop with the bowl resting upon the loop and the stem resting upon the inner end or the combined c gar and cigarette support,

which will appear presently.

by stamping out an elongated strip from sheet metal and bending the same into: the

shape of-an open ended parallelopiped, the

abutting edges of the ends of the bent strip being unconnected for a purpose which will appear presently. the holder is provided with a tongue 28 struck downwardly from its interior and adapted to slide beneath the struck up strap 17 upon the angular or horizontal exten ion 10 of the tongue 9, in the same manner that the combination cigar and cigarette holder 18 is slidingly attached to the oppos te tongue.

The interior of the parallelopiped is approximately equal to but slightly smaller than the periphery of a safety match box. so that when a safety match box is slid endwise into the parallelopipcd, the-walls of the parallelepiped will separate slightly at the abutting edge", and thus form a. frictional gripupon the outer shell of the match box and frictionally hold it therein. While so held, the inner container of the match box may he slid into and out of the outer shell and parallelopiped, in the usual manner through the open ends 'of the parallelopiped.

The side walls of the parallelopiped are provided with open windows or apertures 29, through which the treated or roughened striking side surfaces of the match box will be exposed. for striking purpoies. lVhe-u the contents of the match box have been used, the old box may be removed in its entirety and a new filled box substituted therefor.

In Figs. 4 and 5 another embodiment ofthe invention is illustrated. In these figures a strip or ribbon 30 of sheet metal of uniform Width is extended beneath a tray A, diametrically thereof, and in the bottom portion is off et downwardly as'at 31.'the offset portion being ofi'set upwardly slight- 1y, as at 32, at its central point for a purpose The ends of the ribbon or strip 30 extend upwardlv above the upper edge of the tray for a distance approximately equal to or greater than the depth of the tray, and are turned toward one another, as at 33. over the open face of the tray to form supporting shelves for the .various accessory parts which are permanently or detachably secured thereto.

A second ribbon or strip 34 of sheet metal is extended beneath the tray at right angles The bottom wall 27 of the strip 30, so that the underface of the strip 34 at the offset portion 35 will be substantially flush with the underface of the offset portion 31 of the strip 30. The upper or free ends of the strip 34 are rolled inwardly upon themselves to form beads 36 which are adapted to snap over the upper edge of the tray A and yieldingly hold it against the bottom of the strips.

A disc 37 of sheet material, such as sheet metal, is disposed in the downwardly ofiset sections 31 and 35. of thestrips 30 and 34. This disc 37 will be countersunk in the pockets formed bythe offset sections 31 and 35, and may have any desired pattern struck therefrom, or it may carry other desired ornamentation, such asa felt or fabric disc pad having contrasting patterns placed thereon which will be visible through the bottom of the tray when the tray is of glass.

The strips 30 and 34 are secured together and to the disc 37 in any suitable manner, such as by a rivet 38, and if the length of the oflest section 32 of the strip 30 is approximately equal to the width of the ribbon strip 34, the ribbon strips 30 and 34 will be held at right angles to one another with only a single securing rivct 38. I

In order to prevent contact of the under end of the rivet 38 with the surface upon which the tray and fixture may be supported, the offset portions 31 and 35 of the ribbon strips are provided with convex protuberances or domes 39 on their underfaces, which may be formed by forcing the material downwardly from the bodies of the ribbon by suit-able dies. By the use of such dom s or p'rotuberances. the tray and fixture wil be supported solely at four points, and consequentlv there will not be any tendency for it to rock upon the supporting surface.

To insert or remove the tray, it is merely necessary to spring the free ends of the strip 34 apart to clear the beads 36 from the edge of the tray, whereupon the tray may be lifted until it strikes the underfaces of the angular ends 33 of the ribbon strip 30, and then withdrawn laterally from the fixture.

Any of the accessory parts may be attached to the extensions 33, either permanently or by means of the tongues projecting from the accessory parts and sliding under the projecting straps as in the preceding embodiment. 1

In Fig. 6 another embodiment of the invention is illustrated, which is' somewhat similar to that shown in Figs. 4 and 5, but differs there-from only by the fact that the ribbon strip 30, corresponding to the ribbon 30 of Figs. 4 and 5, instead of being bent inwardly over the tray at the .ends are bent bodiments;

away from the tray as at 40, to form shelves upon which the accessory parts or devices may be mounted as in the preceding em- The ends are then turned backwardly upon themselves as at 41, the extreme ends 42 being curled for ornamental purposes and also extend down to the plane is particularly important in thisembodiment of the invention because the shelves upon I which the accessory parts are mounted, ex-

' than. the diameter of a cigarette, so that a cigarette may be supported 4 thereby bytend away from the tray and not over the tray'and, therefore, any tipping movement,

caused by the same ressure upon the ac-- cessory parts, woul e greater in this embodiment because the tipping force would be applied at a greater distance from the axis of tipping. By having the ends curled or extended into contact with the supporting surface, they would resist this increased tendency to tip and thus make the tray fixture as stable as the others. These ends 42 may,

if desired, be secured to the ribbon strip" but in any event, the looped back portions 41 will serve as handles by which the fixture and tray may he lifted and carried about. i

In Figs. 7 and 8, the illustrated fixture-is similar to that shown in Fi s. 4 and 5, except that instead of having t e straps struck up from the faces of the shelves as in Figs. 1 and 2, the angular ends 33 will have parallel and longitudinally extending tubular beads or straps 43 struck u from the intorior thereof, or rolled from t e edges to form tubular sockets. A wire support &4, formed by bending a stretch ofspring wire, has its two ends brought approximately parallel and inserted into the tubular beads or sockets 4'3, with the, body of the wire support extending over the open face of the tray.

This support is preferably formed by first bending the wire strip intermediate of itsends into a'somewhat U-shape, and making the cross arm portion 45 thereof downwardly concave. The arms of the U-shaped portion are then bent intermediate of their ends to ward one another and downwardly, and

, then-as at 46 approximately parallel to the arms adjacent the cross arm 45, but slightly convergent toward the free ends which are inserted in the beads or sockets 43. The dislance between the arms 46 of the wire support which enter the heads is slightly less umerelywedging it between the two-arms d6 where they project over the-tray. A cigar may be supported upon the support by rest- CI'OSS by welding or riveting, at their'ends, to the strips 47, these strips 4C8 extending from the strips 47 in opposite directions around the tray A slightly below the outer edge thereof, and form a loop of such size that the concave circular periphery of the tray will seat and be supported therein.

lhe upper ends of the stri s 47 will ex.

tend above the open edge 0 the tray at least a distance equal to the depth of the tray, so that the tray may be removed by merely lifting it above the strips 48 and then moving it laterally. The endsof the strips 47 are bent toward one another over the open face of the tray, as at 49, to form shelves upon which the accessory parts, such as combined cigar and cigarette supports, or

the match box, may be supported either ermanently or detaohably as in the prece ing embodiments.

In Fig.1( an embodiment similar to that shown in Fig. 9 is illustrated, with the exception that the lower ends of the strips 47,

-corresponding to 47 in Fig. 9, instead of extending beneath the tray are curled downwardly and backwardly upon themselves, as at '50, to form supporting feet, and the plane tangent to the extreme lower ends of -teet is preferably only slightly above the bottom face of the tray when thetray is supported therein, so that when the fixture is placed upon a surface, the bottom face of the tray will engage the surface just before the feet strike it, the tray rising in its seat a slight amount to permit the fixture to settle upon the supporting surface.

In Figs. 11-and12 another embodiment of the idea shown in Fig. 10 is illustrated, except that the strip 51, corresponding somewhatito the strip 47, extends entirely across the open face of the tray. The two sections on opposite sides of the tray constitute more ly the ends of this common strip. Thus the section 52 extending across the open face of the tray will tie together the supporting feet upon opposite sides of the tray and serve as a shelf upon which the various accessory parts may be mounted as in the preceding embodiments. However, the central portion of the section 52'is enlarged in the form of anopen ellipse or ring 53, so as to formal! opening 5% in which the base of a pipe bowl may rest and be supported, with the stem of the pipe resting upon and supported by the accessory parts such as the cigar and cigarette supports which are attached to the cross bar section 52. V

In allof these embodiments of the invention, it will be observed that the upwardly extending straps at the sides of the tray may be utilized ashandles by which the tray and fixture may be carried about, and the tray itself may be readily removed for cleaning purposes. The tray may be of glass, porcelain, metal, or of any other material, and is not necessarily permanently attached to the'fixture so that broken trays may be replaced without discarding the entire device. The removal feature facilitates more effective cleaning of the trays when they are separated from the fixtures.

Another advantage of this arrangement of this invention, is that if the trays are made of glass, which is fragile, they may be shipped separately from the fixtures with less danger of breakage, and may also be sold separately from the fixtures if desired.

When assembled, the fixtures serve as a pro-- tection to some extent for the tray to prevent injury or breakage thereof. In Figs. 1 and 2, the openings formed between the arms 3 and cross bars 4 will receive the concave surface of the tray and more effectively support it.

The accessory parts, such as the combination cigar and cigarette supports, and the purchaser may select a combination ofsuch parts to suit his particular fancy, without the necessity of the dealer carrying excessive stocks of all kinds. This detachable feature also permits of the customer changing the accessory parts if, after a purchase,

a change is desired. I

In the case of the combination cigar and cigarette supports, the cigarette will be ex tiuguished before it burns far enough to .release itself by reason of the cooling,

through conduction, of the burning tobacco before the point of burning reaches the point of contact. That is, the material of the support, which is of good heat conductin material, such as metal, will so chill the to acco, which is compressed between it that the slow-- ly burning tobacco, in approachin it, will be chilled below the temperature 0 combustion and thus be extinguished.

The upper faces of the bottoms of the fixtures may, if-desired, be proved with'reand pleasing designs.

pin the fixture abruptly upon a supporting sur ace. The match box holders may extend either sideways or in a direction over the tray as desired. 1.

s'ilient pads to absorb shocks caused by drop- It will be observed that these fixtures may v be formed from sheet metal and bent wire, and as a result :they will be relatively inexpensive, and may be given various artistic It will be obvious that various changes in the details and materials, which have been herein described and illustrated for the purpose of explaining the nature of the in'venfixture having a shelf portion adjacent the upper face of the tray, a strap on said shelf, and a smokers accessory part mounted on the shelf with a tongue on said part extends ing under the strap to serve as a connecting means between the partand shelf.

3. In smokers novelties, a fixture for ash trays comprising an elongated strip of sheet metal extending under the bottom of the tray and at its ends extending above the open face of the tray, and then over the open face of the tray to form shelves, and smokers Y accessory parts mounted on said shelves.

4. In smokers noveltles, a fixture for ash' trays comprising'an elongated strip of sheet metal extending under the bottom of the tray and at its ends extending above the open face of the tray and then over the open face of the tray toform shelves, said shelf portions having guide means struck there-' from, and smokers accessory parts havin tongues struck downwardly therefrom and slidably received and supported in the guide means to'secure the parts to said shelves.

5. In smokers novelties, a'fixture for ash trays comprising a frame for receiving and supporting an ash tray, having tongues extending upwardly above the open face of the tray and then'horizontally to form shelves, and smokers accessory parts detachablymounted upon said shelves.

6. In smokers novelties, a fixturefor ash trays comprising a frame in which an ash tray is received and supported,'said frame having a tongue extending upwardly froma side thereof and then horizontally to form a shelf, and a cigarette support secured to he shelf with one end extending over the open face of the tray, said one end having a bent up flange carrying a notch leading from an edge thereof and, of a width siightly less than the diameter or" a cigarette, whereby a cigarette will he supported in said notch when wedged therein,

7. In smokers novelties, a fixture for ash trays comprisings a frame in which an ash tray is received and supported, said frame having a tongue extending upwardly from a side thereof and then horizontally to form a shelf, and a cigarette supportsecured to the shelf with one end extending over the open face of the tray, said one end having ahent up flange carrying a slot leading from an'edge thereof and of'a width slightly less than the diameter of a'cigarette, whereby a cigarette will he supported in said notch when wedged therein, the other end of such support having a concave notch in its upper edge, the flangewith the slot also having a flared entrance to the slot which cooperates with the concave notch to support a cigar.

8. In smokers noirelties, a fixture for ash trays comprising a sheet metal frame in which the tray may rest and be supported, said frame having guiding means struck therefrom, and a smokers accessory part slidin lv received thereby.

In witnesswhereof, I hereunto subscribe my signature.

. EDWIN CALDWELL. 

